At a Glance
by Chimzap
Summary: Shiznat one-shot. First impressions are everything. Rated K.


**I've had a bad day. A really bad day. And none of my usual methods of coping seems to be working so instead of doing homework, I'm writing fanfiction.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME**

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There is something unbelievably beautiful about a midnight sky.

The way grey clouds glaze over a bright moon, shadowing the Earth of the bright light bearing down. When all you can hear is the soft sirens of the police in the distance, the slight rustling of leaves as a chilly wind passed through. Natsuki Kuga would've taken the time to appreciate the soft beauty found in the dark if she wasn't so distracted with the bundle of textbooks in her arms.

She should've known better. A young, smart woman such as herself should've predicted the outcome of denying help from her classmates when they had offered to help carry her batch of school supplies. But her pride, oh her pride, wouldn't allow her to accept such actions. She grew up independently and as such, acted on her own accord. The idea of allowing even her closest friends to help her was the last thing to cross her mind.

And now, here she was walking through the shortcut through her park, arms stacked with her medical textbooks, hoping desperately that nothing would appear in her walkway that would hinder her journey home.

What an idiot she was. A stupid imbecile who should've accepted one of her friends' offer of help. She regretted denying them now.

She shuddered as another skin-prickling breeze swept through the park's narrow trees. Fantastic she thought sarcastically.

A rock skidded in front of her as her shoes kicked forward and Natsuki silently cursed as she felt herself trip. It was only thanks to her reflexes that she had managed to catch her material before it hit the ground.

Natsuki sighed, irritated at her past decisions, before adjusting her books to her chest.

"Ara, excuse me?"

Natsuki's thoughts of self-hatred came to halt as her emerald eyes moved towards the sound of that voice. What greeted her made the organ in her chest jump.

A woman, slightly older than herself, stood a couple meters away. Underneath the lamp post, Natsuki could clearly see that the woman wore a pair of peach skinny jeans coupled with a a dark petticoat, a bright crimson scarf snuggled nicely against the woman's neck. A soft black beanie covered a headful of curly chestnut hair and judging by the lump prodding from the woman's head, it had quite a bit of volume too. But with all of Natsuki's complimentary thoughts regarding the woman, nothing could quite describe the pair of burgundy eyes watching her.

She couldn't find anything from her wide vocabulary to describe the woman's eyes. It was just red. A brilliant shade of deep red that seems to just gather the darkness around it to emphasize its depth. Everything else that she had been thinking of, her thoughts regarding her own situation, went blank as those orbs walked towards her.

"Uhmmm yes?" Natsuki managed to mumble out as the woman stood a socially acceptable distance away. Close enough space to converse politely, but far enough for anyone to recognize that the two were strangers. The dark haired woman gave a grunt as she adjusted her load again.

"You seem to be in need of some help. May I offer some assistance?" the woman offered, smiling slightly. Natsuki's breath hitched as she heard that voice again. She hadn't clearly heard it the first time, due to such a sudden announcement, but underneath the polite tone of the other woman, was a accent that Natsuki couldn't quite place yet. But nonetheless, it was unique and Natsuki was intrigued.

"Ah no thanks. I'm fine."

Burgundy eyes rose in amusement as she watched Natsuki once again adjust her pile of textbooks, struggling to keep a hold of her materials.

"Are you certain of that?"

Natsuki could easily see the effort the other woman exerted in trying not to laugh. This snapped the emerald eyed woman out of her daze and she huffed, slightly offended. This was exactly the reason as to why she denied help in the first place. The feeling of helplessness that came with being unable to complete her own task by herself was what ate at her gut.

"Yes. I think I can manage on my own," Natsuki muttered darkly, feeling the sharpness of her tone. She hadn't meant for her words to sound so acute, but the sentence had stumbled out on its own, leaving the dark haired woman praying that the other woman wouldn't feel any offense.

The other woman, showing no signs of hurt or displeasure at Natsuki's tone, eyed her carefully before frowning, an action that Natsuki surprisingly wasn't particularly fond of on the woman's beautiful face. She couldn't help but feel disappointed and saddened at that expression.

Natsuki's mental process suddenly froze as she acknowledged her previous statement. This response was itself, abnormal in Natsuki's mind. She had never felt such emotions regarding another person. Not even with her childhood friends. Such ache within her chest at the mere sight before her. As such, she wished she could mend the situation, but how?

The obvious solution was simple, but Natsuki, due to her cautious state of upbringing, was hesitant in allowing a stranger to follow her home. Even if said stranger was a gorgeous woman actually willing to help another stranger just out of kindness. But then again, how does she know that the other woman wasn't a danger to her person? Some murderers would appear innocent in the eyes of a bystander, but in reality, was a cold-blooded killer, ready to stab anyone in the back as soon as they turned.

But the other woman's kind smile quickly disarmed Natsuki's running imagination and at that, Natsuki finally admitted to herself that she was just finding an excuse to avoid allowing the other woman to help her.

Natsuki internally sighed before resigning to her decision. "But it wouldn't hurt to have some help..." she finished.

The other woman, at such a reply, gave a grin that brightened her already brilliant smile. She moved closer towards the smaller woman and grabbed two of the four books that Natsuki had been juggling with, her hands softly grazing against the dark haired woman's. Natsuki softly blushed, but quickly regained control of her face's temperature. She turned towards the other woman who, with a quick jerk of her head, indicated for Natsuki to take the lead.

Natsuki gave of a silent sigh, fully accepting her decision, before nodding and commencing a constant pace, a lot faster than her previous, towards her apartment. The brunette, surprised at such a brisk start, caught up momentarily but before Natsuki could react to the sudden presence of another body closer to her's, the other woman turned towards her, and with another dazzling smile, introduced herself.

"My name is Shizuru Fujino. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Natsuki, startled at such introductions, nodded before saying her own introductory.

"Natsuki Kuga. Thanks for everything Fujino-san."

Shizuru just smiled again before replying.

"Nat-su-ki. What a beautiful name. And please, Fujino-san is my father. Just Shizuru is fine. And for everything else, you're welcome."

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 **I kept it nice and short. It's almost been a year since I've last done anything like this and for that, I apologize. I hope this partially makes up for my disappearance? And sorry if this isn't up to your standards, I've got to get into the zone again.**

 **Peace out.**


End file.
